What to know about Wolfspeed and its $1B facility in Upstate New York
Wolfspeed opened a new, $1 billion facility north of Utica on April 25, with the 200 mm silicon carbide chip plant expected to bring more than 600 jobs.
The North Carolina-based company’s facility brings the promise of the Marcy Nanocenter site to fruition. A series of false starts were tied to the site prior to Wolfspeed’s arrival, with Texas Instruments and Austria-based AMS considering the site.
Now, it’s full steam ahead at the silicon carbide facility, which will produce semiconductors found in modern automobiles.
What is Wolfspeed?
Headquartered in Durham, Wolfspeed was formerly known as Cree. The company announced the name change in October; it was previously Cree’s brand for silicon carbide products.
Wolfspeed’s roots are in North Carolina State University, where it was founded in 1987. The company always has focused on silicon carbide, beginning with the creation of the first blue LED to use the material and the first commercial silicon carbide wafers.
The company now employs more than 3,500 employees with a footprint in more than 17 countries. The Mohawk Valley facility in Upstate New York is the first 200mm silicon carbide chip plant, or fab, in the world.
What is the Marcy Nanocenter?
The Marcy Nanocenter site is a shovel-ready greenfield development area focused on recruiting high-tech semiconductor facilities. The 434-acre property in the town of Marcy overlooks Utica and is located just west of SUNY Polytechnic.
Even with Wolfspeed in place, there’s plenty of acreage for additional chip fabs, offices and other support buildings on the acreage.
Marcy Nanocenter has an electricity substation and water, sewer and fiber optic connections already on site. It also comes with a pre-approved, 49-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement for new tenants.
Mohawk Valley Edge, a regional economic development agency, received the 2021 Project of the Year award from the New York State Economic Development Council for its efforts to bring Wolfspeed to the Marcy Nanocenter.
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Why silicon carbide?
Silicon carbide is one of the hardest materials known to man and is commonly used in sandpaper, including for stone and metal finishing, in its multi-crystal form.
As a single crystal, it can create semiconductors that outperform comparable silicon-only devices. It’s difficult to grow as the single crystal cylinder that wafers are cut from, however, said Wolfspeed co-founder John Palmour during a tour of the Mohawk Valley fab.
Silicon carbide semiconductors make energy conversion more efficient, Palmour said. The electricity coming out of a wall outlet has to be converted for devices like laptops and electric vehicles.
“If we do that more efficiently, you can drive further on a given charge,” Palmour said. “And that’s one of the big anxieties that everybody has about (electric vehicles), is how far can I go.”
How will Wolfspeed’s products be used?
The silicon carbide devices produced at the Mohawk Valley fab likely will be used in a number of applications, but the immediate will be in next-generation automobiles.
Wolfspeed announced a multi-year deal to supply silicon carbide semiconductors for the Lucid Air, the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year, on April 25. Last fall, the company signed a supplier agreement with General Motors to provide silicon carbide for integrated power electronics in the Detroit manufacturer’s electric vehicles.
Lucid Motors, based in California with manufacturing in Arizona, is an all-electric luxury brand. The Air, its first production model, boasts options up to 1,110 horsepower and 520 miles to a charge.
"Silicon carbide chips are significantly more efficient than silicon chips," Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe said at the fab’s opening. "So, what does this mean? It means cars like the Lucid will have a longer range and will recharge at a much faster rate."
Steve Howe is the city reporter for the Observer-Dispatch. Email him at showe@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Wolfspeed opens $1B silicon carbide plant in Upstate New York
